Cops to give forensic report in Ponty murder case

A Delhi court today asked police to supply the forensic reports to sacked Uttarakhand minority panel chief SS Namdhari and ten others chargesheeted for their alleged role in the killings of liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his younger brother Hardeep at a farm house here.

Additional sessions judge Vimal Kumar Yadav, who heard the matter after its committal, directed Delhi Police Crime Branch to supply the accused with all the remaining reports pertaining to the investigations so that it can hear the arguments on charges against them.

The court has now fixed April 6 for further proceedings in the case and said that the police should file the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) reports by the next date of hearing in the case.

During the hearing, the investigating officer informed the court that the CFSL reports were not yet ready.

On March 19, the case was committed to the sessions court by the magisterial court which had supplied copies of the charge sheet to the 11 accused.

The court will conduct the trial of the case against Namdhari, his Personal Security Officer (PSO) Sachin Tyagi, his aides Simranjeet Singh and Jagbir Singh, and six other accused.

Ponty's men including Narender Alawat, who was arrested a day before the charge sheet was filed in the case on February 16, will also be tried by the sessions court.

Ponty Chadha and Hardeep, who allegedly had a property dispute, were killed in a shootout at a Chhattarpur farmhouse in south Delhi on November 17, last year.

Namdhari and Tyagi face charges of murder, attempt to murder and other offences under the IPC besides cases under the Arms Act. Ponty has also been accused of killing his brother in the charge sheet.

The other accused have been booked for the offences ranging from attempt to murder, causing grievous harm, dacoity, rioting with deadly weapons, house trespass, kidnapping and illegally confining occupants of the farm house and destruction of evidence under the IPC.